The inside scoop on colloidal silver -- the world's most powerful natural antibiotic!

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

FDA Admits: No Proof Colloidal Silver Interferes With Drug Absorption

The bureaucrats at the FDA, bless their
pointed little heads, claimed in a Consumer Advisory Bulletin back in 2009 that
colloidal silver “may” interfere with the absorption of prescription drugs like
penicillamine, quinolone, tetracycline as well as thyroxine medications.

This claim has stuck, being repeated incessantly
across the internet by well-known websites such as WebMD.com, MayoClinic.com,
RxList.com, the National Institutes of Health website and numerous others.

But is the claim true? And can the FDA document it? Turns out, they can’t. Here’s the story…

Back in October I wrote to you about my adventures in trying to get the FDA to document their
claim that colloidal silver “may” interfere with the absorption of certain
prescription drugs.

You might remember
that I pointed out the claim has been repeated ad nauseum all over the internet, and is being used by certain
well-known colloidal silver detractors to frighten people away from trying colloidal
silver.

I also explained
that I’d hired a researcher from the pharmaceutical industry to comb through
the online PubMed database records to see if he could find any clinical studies
that backed up the FDA claim. He found
none.

I then conducted my
own research, and could find no corroborating evidence for the idea that
colloidal silver can interfere with the absorption of prescription drugs and
medications.

Finally, I emailed
the FDA, and politely asked them to document their claim, stating:

“I’ve
read with interest your Consumer Advisory at this link
and found the following comment I'd like clarification on:

‘In
addition, the use of silver-containing dietary supplements may interfere with
the body's absorption of some drugs, such as quinolone antibiotics
[ciprofloxacin (Cipro), norfloxacin (Noroxin), ofloxacin], tetracycline
antibiotics, thyroxine, and penacillamine (Cuprimine).’

Could
you please respond with the documentation for this statement?

I've
searched the PubMed database and cannot at this point find any clinical studies
documenting the details in this statement.
I’d very much appreciate it if you could send me the documentation.

Thank
you,

Steve
Barwick

But the FDA
responded with a terse, one-line sentence that read as follows:

Obviously, if I
wanted the information, I was going to have to work for it. I assume the bureaucrats figured I wouldn’t
go through the trouble of filing an official Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
request.

Boy, were they
wrong. I filed a Freedom of Information
Act request on 10/10/2012. And four days
later I received the following email from them:

We will respond as soon as possible and may charge you a fee for processing
your request. If your informational needs change, and you no longer need the
requested records, please contact us to cancel your request, as charges may be
incurred once processing of your request has begun.

Ah…now we’re getting
somewhere, I thought. At least they’re
acknowledging my FOIA request. And they
even appeared to understand my question.
Progress!

But then October
ended and November rolled around. And
December. And finally, I figured I
wasn’t going to hear from them at all.

No Proof, No Credibility

Until December 6th,
when I received a plain white envelope in the mail from the Department of
Health & Human Services, the FDA’s parent organization.

Opening the
envelope, I found a one-page letter, which,
boiled down to the essentials, stated:

“Dear Mr. Barwick:

In response to your request of October 15, 2012 for information
pertaining to dietary supplements containing silver.

We have searched our files and find no responsive information.”

There you have
it.

The FDA admits they
have no documentation for their claim that colloidal silver “may interfere with
the body's absorption of some drugs, such as quinolone antibiotics [ciprofloxacin
(Cipro), norfloxacin (Noroxin), ofloxacin], tetracycline antibiotics,
thyroxine, and penacillamine (Cuprimine).”

Pay to Play

To add insult to
injury, the letter ended by stating “The following charges for this request to
date may be included in a monthly invoice:
$23.00”

Yep. The FDA is going to charge me $23 to tell me
they have no documentation for their own claims.

What a great
country, huh? I can only wonder what the
charge would have been had they actually found evidence for their own claims!

You’d think they’d
be too embarrassed to charge money for having to admit they’ve just been making
stuff up out of thin air. But no. Bureaucrats have no shame.

Colloidal Silver Myths

Of course, this kind
of thing should come as no surprise, especially in regards to colloidal silver.

I guess I can add
one more myth to the pile, which is to say, the myth that when the government
makes a claim about colloidal silver, they actually have documentation to back
up their claim.

In All Fairness

Of course, I’m not a
doctor. I’m a natural health
journalist. So if you’re concerned about
this topic, do be sure to run this article by your doctor and get his advice.

After all, I’d be
remiss if I failed to point out that just because the FDA has no documentation
for their claim, doesn’t mean the claim isn’t true.

In spite of the profound
lack of evidence, there nevertheless might well be people who have trouble
processing certain prescription medications.
And maybe colloidal silver usage could make it worse, in some rare cases.

As we’ve seen, at
present there’s apparently ZERO clinical evidence for this. But that doesn’t mean it can never
happen.

After all, it wasn’t
too long back that doctors figured out that eating grapefruit before taking
certain medications could in some rare instances prevent the body from properly
excreting those medications, and therefore cause those medications to build up
to unhealthy levels in a small subset of people.

So if you choose to
use colloidal silver, and you take prescription medications of any kind, you’re
still responsible for working with
your doctor to make sure your medication is working correctly, and your
supplementation with colloidal silver (or any other nutritional supplement, for
that matter) is not interfering with it.

This of course can easily
be done through simple blood tests that would determine if blood levels of the
drug are too high or too low, or if the desired effect of the drug is taking
place, i.e., for example, tests to determine whether or not your thyroid
medication is keeping your thyroid hormone at the proper levels.

Obviously, if your
doctor is concerned about your colloidal silver usage due to certain
medications you’re taking, you can talk to your doctor about mitigating the
possibility of interaction between your colloidal silver supplement and the
absorption of your medications by taking the colloidal silver at least several
hours after taking the medications, or even at opposite ends
of the day.

That way, as I
mentioned in my previous article on this topic, your medications are already fully absorbed by the
body before colloidal silver is introduced into the body.

Or, you may want to err on the side of caution by foregoing the use of
colloidal silver altogether. Hash it out
with your doctor, and insist he provide evidence for his concerns, if he has
any.

Meanwhile, if you’re
interested in learning more about the powerful, infection-fighting qualities of
colloidal silver,
just click the link for additional in-depth information you won’t find anywhere
else.

Important Note and
Disclaimer: The contents of this Ezine have not been
evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
Information conveyed herein is from sources deemed to be accurate and
reliable, but no guarantee can be made in regards to the accuracy and
reliability thereof. The author, Steve
Barwick, is a natural health journalist with over 30 years of experience
writing professionally about natural health topics. He is not
a doctor. Therefore, nothing stated in
this Ezine should be construed as prescriptive in nature, nor is any part of
this Ezine meant to be considered a substitute for professional medical
advice. Nothing reported herein is
intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The author is simply reporting in
journalistic fashion what he has learned during the past 17 years of journalistic
research into colloidal silver and its usage.
Therefore, the information and data presented should be considered for
informational purposes only, and approached with caution. Readers should verify for themselves, and to
their own satisfaction, from other knowledgeable sources such as their doctor, the
accuracy and reliability of all reports, ideas, conclusions, comments and
opinions stated herein. All important
health care decisions should be made under the guidance and direction of a
legitimate, knowledgeable and experienced health care professional. Readers are solely responsible for their
choices. The author and publisher
disclaim responsibility and/or liability for any loss or hardship that may be
incurred as a result of the use or application of any information included in
this Ezine.

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Welcome!

I'm Steve Barwick, author of the Ultimate Colloidal Silver Manual and guest star of the 60-Minute Colloidal Silver Secrets Video. I created this blog to help you learn more about the amazing healing and infection-fighting qualities of colloidal silver -- the world's most powerful natural antibiotic! Get FREE tips on healing with colloidal silver, and a FREE Colloidal Silver Safe Dosage Report at the link directly below...

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Meet Steve Barwick

Steve Barwick is a noted natural health journalist with hundreds of published articles to his credit over the past 30 years.
He is also the author, co-author or editor of five books on natural health and survivalist topics, and is currently working on five additional books.
For the past 13 years he has been an enthusiastic advocate of the responsible use of colloidal silver. He is also a strong proponent of taking personal responsibility for one's own health and well-being, particularly through proper nutrition and natural health.
Barwick is also known as the resident colloidal silver advocate at www.TheSilverEdge.com.
And he is the featured guest star of the newly released Colloidal Silver Secrets video, now available inexpensively in DVD format at www.ColloidalSilverSecretsVideo.com.
His 547-page book, The Ultimate Colloidal Silver Manual, is the world's bestselling book on colloidal silver and its usage. Learn more at www.UltimateColloidalSilverManual.com.
You can also follow Steve on the Colloidal Silver Secrets Community on Facebook at:
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Disclaimer

Important: The information on this blog has not been reviewed or approved of by the FDA. Nor is it intended to provide medical advice, or be "prescriptive" in any way. It is merely a journalistic account of what we have learned about colloidal silver and its usage from the existing literaure, from personal experience, and from interviews with over 2,000 experienced colloidal silver users over the course of the past 12 years. The information on this blog is not meant to be the "final word" on colloidal silver usage by any stretch of the imagination. The information is from sources deemed to be accurate and reliable, but no guarantees of accuracy or reliability are hereby expressed or implied. Therefore, readers are urged to perform their own due diligence. When dealing with medical conditions, always consult with your licensed and trusted medical professional.